Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Lot Split Access Easement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee approves Larson lot split variance allowing existing driveway easement to bisect parcel
Summary
The committee approved a variance allowing the Larsons to divide a roughly 21-acre unzoned property into two lots while keeping an existing driveway easement that bisects the larger parcel; the committee found the existing driveway and steep slopes create practical hardship.
The Dunn County Planning, Resource and Development Committee approved a variance on Jan. 15 allowing Luke and Marissa Larson to split a roughly 21-acre parcel in the Town of Elk Mound into a 1.5-acre homestead lot and a 19.33-acre remainder without relocating an existing access driveway.
Staff said the property is unzoned and the current driveway predates the county’s Chapter 16 land-division ordinance. County staff explained that strict compliance would require a new 66-foot-wide access easement and driveway routed across steep slopes and near overhead power lines; that route would be impractical. Staff presented alternatives that would meet ordinance standards — creating a new driveway or subdividing the property into three lots — but said those options would either require new roadway construction across difficult terrain or produce a configuration the applicants do not seek.
The committee discussed ordinance purpose statements, the county’s definition of high-value agricultural land and whether the parcel met those criteria; staff said portions of the parcel include Class 2 soils but the areas proposed for division are not actively farmed. After discussion the committee moved and voted to approve the variance. The approval allows the Larsons to record a two-lot certified survey map with the access easement remaining in its present location and to build a new home and shop on the larger remainder as proposed.
No roll-call tally was recorded in committee minutes; the chair announced the variance was approved by voice vote.
